Helping disabled people enter the workforce makes sense

Freeze to an incentive program will penalize recent graduates, Jérôme Archambault says.

One of the objectives of the first phase of Quebec’s National Strategy for Labour Market Integration and Maintenance of Handicapped Persons 2008- 2013 was to gradually increase financing of the provincial Employment Integration Contracts ( EIC).

The EIC program is an integration measure that serves to compensate employers who hire individuals whose productivity level — something that, it should be pointed out, has no connection with an individual’s skill level — is affected because of a disability. In addition, this program allows employees to have access to an occupational therapist to counsel them about the adaptation of their workstations and to have access to adapted software. This program is, therefore, an effective incentive that helps create a diverse workforce.

A budgetary freeze of the program is currently in force — that is, there will be no further granting of new EICs. Although the budget for the program increased from $ 23.3 million in 2008 to $ 33.6 million in 2013, this increase represented less than two- thirds of the originally promised investment.

This situation may have serious repercussions for students with disabilities who are nearing the end of their studies.

Freezing this program is a false economy. The program does not really represent an additional cost to taxpayers. An individual with a disability who does not have access to an EIC will be highly likely to depend on public assistance. Indeed, public assistance for individuals who struggle with severely limited capacities for employment confers higher benefits. Hence, in several cases, the government will spend less for an EIC than it would have spent on public assistance.

The program does not really represent an additional cost to taxpayers.

Furthermore, the disabled worker will also experience benefits in terms of social development and mental and physical health.

This program is thus a potential source of savings, in addition to offering such advantages as making our society more inclusive and diverse.

We are conscious that we are in a period of budget restructuring. However, the freeze on EICs is not beneficial even in a period of budget freeze.

And it is arbitrary, meaning that it penalizes newcomers on the job market in favour of those who already participate in the program. Thus, even if the budget stays the same, a revision of the program would be more beneficial than a freeze. A serious economic study and some adjustments are urgently necessary. Answers to such questions as “How should we calculate the lack of productivity efficiently?” will determine the longevity and the effectiveness of the program, and they must be debated.

Furthermore, we must not lose sight of the fact that the EIC represents an incentive for employers.

Securing a first job for recent graduates with disabilities is particularly important, because often they did not get the opportunity to have experience in the job market for several reasons related to their situation. Among other issues, they often have a hard time finding an adapted internship in the workplace. Within the current framework, a period of unemployment for students with disabilities who are finishing their studies could prove to be catastrophic and bring them, ultimately, to leave the workforce.

Too few incentives and policies are available for persons with disabilities to encourage them and, above all, not discourage them, if they are fit to work.